Marius Haas -- the architect of HP's Networking division and 3Com takeover -- is on the way out.

HP's top networking executive, Marius Haas, is leaving HP at the end of the month. Haas served as the Senior Vice President and Worldwide General Manager of the HP Networking Division.

"Marius Haas has decided to leave HP to pursue other interests," HP noted in a statement sent to InternetNews.com.

An HP spokesperson told InternetNews.com that Haas' official departure date is June 1st. Haas is joining investment firm KKR as an industry advisor.

"Marius brings 20 years of technology industry experience, including significant expertise evaluating investment opportunities and successfully executing and integrating acquisitions," Adam Clammer, a Member of KKR and Head of the Firm's technology team, said in a statement. "We are delighted he will be joining KKR as an Industry Advisor, providing strategic and operating guidance in a fast moving high-tech landscape."

Haas had been the General Manager of HP's networking efforts since 2008. From 2003 to 2008, Haas was Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Global Head of Corporate M&A for HP. Haas began his career as an HP executive as Vice President of Worldwide eBusiness and eCommerce in 2001

A search for Haas’ replacement at HP Networking is currently underway. In the interim, Bethany Mayer, vice president of worldwide marketing and alliances for Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking, will be acting as the lead for the HP Networking.

"Mayer has more than 20 years of experience in engineering, product management and marketing in networking," HP said in a statement.